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Positive human functioning is perhaps most remarkable when evident in contexts of significant life challenge and adversity. It is then, when individuals are being tested, that much becomes known about human strengths—what they are, how they come about, how they are nurtured or undermined. The growing literature on human resilience addresses this juxtaposition of being well in the face of difficulty. In this chapter, we briefly examine previous research on resilience—how the construct has been defined and measured and what have been identified as key protective factors and resources to account for such resilience. We consider these questions with a brief focus on studies of children as well as more lengthy consideration of research on adults and elderly individuals (where our own work has been conducted). Investigations of resilience are increasingly prominent in both phases of life. We then compare studies of resilience conducted at these early and later periods of the life course, giving emphasis to how the two literatures inform each other. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of targeted research priorities designed to extend and apply knowledge of positive human functioning in the face of challenge—in other words, the capacity to flourish under fire.